


How to Embarass Yourself Using Only Pastries

by hotdammneron



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baking, Cinnamon rolls, Coffee Shops, F/F, Fluff, Just you wait - Freeform, M/M, Mechanic Rey, Poe is kind of a mess and is even more of a mess around Finn because he is unreasonably cute, also stay tuned for more reyva soon im sorry ive been lacking in the f/f department, coffee cake - Freeform, finn just left corporate hell, lemon bread - Freeform, literally nothing but fluff, poe bakes a lot, recipes included in the notes of most chapters, tags will be added as it goes on, there is a bit of swearing, there will be scones soon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-24 19:50:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6164721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotdammneron/pseuds/hotdammneron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe has concluded that the morning rush would, in theory, be the cause of his slow and painful death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1: A Latte and a Cinnamon Roll

Poe has concluded that the morning rush would, in theory, be the cause of his slow and painful death. Every day around 10AM, a steady stream of people would come through the door, each one with an exceedingly more difficult order and an increasingly rude demeanor. Each day that they had the same shift, he and Jessika switched off between running the register and making drinks. Jess often times passed off register duty to Poe, being as somehow he got the tips for the day off the charts. Being as they pooled the tips at the end of the night, his way with customers was quite beneficial to everyone’s wallets. It was easier for him to run the register anyway, because it seemed like whenever more than a few customers came in, everything started going wrong with the espresso machine. Luckily, Jess seemed to have a speciality with any machinery and could get it back operating in no time. Through all of this, with people’s frustrating orders and lack of common courtesy, he would probably die before he could ever get out of this job. Not that he disliked the job, just the clientele.  
There were a few definite positive sides to his job. For one thing, free coffee (within moderation) any time he needed it. Also, he got to bake any time he wanted to, and make a little extra money on the side. When Ms. Organa first opened the coffee shop in the late nineties, naming it La Resistenza, one of her friends provided her with a small pastry case. Before Poe started working there, the case was never filled, being as none of the other people who worked there really had an appreciation for baking. When he was younger, Poe’s father had taught him to cook most anything, including nearly every baked good known to man. He had been baking all his life before he went to work at La Resistenza, and when he noticed the empty pastry case in the front he went to talk to Ms. Organa immediately, returning with permission to make a few dozen scones and sell them in the shop. He had taken up baking again in his spare time and weekends, and everyone in town was well aware that Poe’s lemon poppy seed biscotti was something to fight to the death over if necessary.  
There were definitely a few other benefits to his job as well. He got to spend basically every day with his best friend, and made new friends through work as well. Some people would come in nearly every day, and eventually he would get to know their order well and talk to them any time they came in. There was a girl who worked at a salvage and repair shop down the street who came to the shop every tuesday around 6PM, her hands stained with engine grease and her hair pulled back out of her face. Her smile seemed to light up a room immediately. She and Poe had a good acquaintanceship, both of them shooting quips back and forth with remarkable speed. Sometimes he did have to nudge Jessika under the counter when this girl, he remembered her name as Rey, came in, being as his friend seemed lost in her eyes and wide smile. He always made a mental note to give her hell about it later.  
There were always the corporate zombies too, who weren’t nearly as bubbly and fun to be around as the mechanic from down the street. If they didn’t seem completely lifeless, they were always rude to whoever served them. Sometimes, they would see someone in a sharp suit walking down the street towards the shop, and Poe and Jess would place their bets as to whether they were going to be totally dead inside or just entirely rude and pretend they were so superior. Most of them were the first option. There were a few that seemed higher up in whatever company they came from, a lanky, irritable man with sleek red hair, and a muscular woman who could probably snap Poe’s spine. These two were exceptionally intolerable, but luckily they generally sent their peons to the shop to pick up coffee for them.  
One thursday afternoon, Poe was leaning at the counter next to Jessika, both of them tired from the earlier rush and calmed by the lull in business. Snapping out of near-sleep, he heard the bell on the door chime, as a man in a suit walked through the door, smiling. He was dressed like the corporate zombies who always came in, but he seemed vibrant and full of energy as he walked to the counter. His smile was wide and his lips full, and he looked around before placing his order. Poe couldn’t help but notice how well he filled out his suit, and mentally punched himself in the face. Poe sort of forgot how to talk, but Jessika covered for him.

“Welcome in! What can I get for you today?” She chirped, digging her heel hard into Poe’s shin under the counter.  
“Can I just get a vanilla latte please?”  
“Of course! What’s the name on that?”  
“Uh, it’s Finn.”  
“Alright, we’ll have that right out for you, Finn!” With this, she elbowed Poe hard in the side as he stared at the door, shoving a cup into his hand and pushing him toward the espresso machine.

Finn walked away from the counter and sat at one of the couches in the corner, eyeing the pastry case and inspecting the contents. Poe finished his latte after a few minutes, having gotten super close to spilling the entire shot of espresso on his apron, and walked over to the couch to hand him the coffee. He smiled at the other man, politely and professionally, and tried not to care that he gently brushed over his knuckles. Poe returned to his original position behind the counter, Jessika giving him the worst possible look. He glared back in response.  
A few minutes later, Finn was still sitting on the couch sipping his latte slowly and occasionally looking at his phone for notifications. Poe stayed at the front counter as Jess went back to the dish room to wash some of the espresso cups, and he tried not to look at Finn. He couldn’t avoid looking at him when he stood up and walked over to the counter, smiling (he seemed like he was always smiling, and it pretty much made Poe want to smile all the time too) at Poe.

“Hey, can I get one of those sweet rolls?”  
“Hm? Yeah, absolutely.” Poe tried to will himself not to make this situation awkward, and turned to the pastry case to remove a cinnamon roll and place it on a small plate with a fork. He beamed at Finn as he handed him the plate.  
“Thank you so much, how much will that be?”  
Poe paused for a minute, and was sure that Finn could definitely hear his heart pounding.  
“Uh, it’s on the house!” He made it awkward probably.  
“Really? Thanks!”  
“No problem, buddy. I’m Poe, by the way.”  
“Nice to meet you, Poe!”

Finn moved back to the couch with his newly acquired sweet roll, and Poe tried not to look at his butt at all. He didn’t even know the guy, but he wanted to know him. Jessika returned from the back room, and leaned against the counter next to Poe. Finn looked absolutely ecstatic while he was eating the cinnamon roll, and Poe really tried not to hear him moan slightly upon the first bite. He made a mental note to make cinnamon rolls more often. When Finn left, after smiling back at them and saying goodbye, Poe allowed himself to look at his butt. It was worth the appalled look on Jessika’s face and the punch on the shoulder. He knew he was going to be getting shit for that forever, but damn was that boy’s butt worth it.


	2. Part 2: Plain Coffee, a Muffin, and Eventual Lemon Bread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe is totally screwed. Finn came back to La Resistenza the following day, and every time he sees him, Poe can't seem to remember how to function like a person.

The next day, Poe was yet again convinced that Jessika was out to cause his death. Finn came in again, and Jess ducked into the back room right as she saw him approach, leaving Poe to run the register. To make matters even worse, he wasn’t wearing a suit today. Instead, he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. This should not have been a big deal in the slightest, but Poe thought he was literally about to die. Poe Dameron has died, and the cause of his death was definitely casual friday wherever Finn worked. 

“Hello? Earth to Poe?” Finn said, smiling as usual, and Poe snapped out of his bicep-induced trance and tried not to say anything entirely embarrassing.   
“Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep. How’re you today?”  
“Pretty good! Finally free, what about you?”  
“What do you mean by free?”  
“I quit my soul sucking corporate gig yesterday. No more suits, no more executives breathing down my neck, none of that nonsense. It’s great.”  
“Where’d you work?”  
“I was interning down at First Order, it was terrible.”  
“We get people in from down there all the time, I’m happy for you buddy!”  
“Thanks, man! Oh, and can I just get a muffin and plain coffee?”  
“Yeah, definitely-”  
“I’m fully willing to pay for my baked goods, in case you were wondering.”  
“Good to know. D’you need any creamer for this?”  
“Nope!”  
“Alright, that’ll be $4.27, unless there was anything else?”  
“I should be good for now,”  
Finn pulls out his wallet and pays for his food and drink, then moves from the counter to a cushioned chair by one of the various coffee tables. He pulls a small bag from his back, rummaging inside before pulling out a small notebook and a day planner. He takes down a few things in the planner, then reaching back into the bag and pulling out a textbook. Poe slowly came to the realization that Finn, who wore a t-shirt that caused Poe’s death, was evidently a college student. He was a damn baby, Poe thought, even though he had just graduated a few years ago.   
Most thoughts of the frankly unnecessarily distracting man on the couch dissipated as Jess returned from the back room, drying her hands on her apron and leaning against the counter next to him. He finds himself accidentally staring at Finn again after a few more minutes, panicking when Finn notices, but he just responds with a warm smile. Poe’s stomach does a backflip.  
Jessika was working a double shift that day to cover for their coworker, and Poe stayed late past his own shift being over to work on baking for the following day. He clocked out around 3, but still helped Jess run the register if she needed it. Finn left around 3:30, smiling (did he ever stop smiling? Poe really didn’t want him to ever stop smiling) at Poe over his shoulder as he waved goodbye and pushed the door open. Poe’s heart might have stopped just the slightest bit. He leaned his entire upper body against the counter, sighing heavily and a bit more mellow-dramatically than necessary to get Jessika’s attention. Rolling her eyes, she then walked towards his side from the espresso machine, cupping her chin in her hands and looking at him with a fake irritated expression. 

“Jess, I’m screwed.”  
“So I’ve noticed. Get his number.”  
“What? No way, we don’t even know eachother!”  
“You’ll never get to know him unless you stop forgetting how to talk or have an adult conversation whenever you see him, Poe.”  
“I’m not going to just ask him for his phone number!”  
“I’ll do it for you.”   
“No way am I letting you do that.”  
“You can’t stop the best wingman in the city from getting you this boy’s number, Dameron.”  
“I’ve resigned myself to your attempts to get me a date at this point. Don’t make it weird.”  
“I make no promises. Now go make some scones, or whatever it is you do.”

She followed this with a kick to his knee, shooing him away from the counter with one hand. He walked to the back of the coffee shop, where the kitchen was, and considered what to make. He had been doing some more outside-of-the-box baking lately, and figured that people would appreciate a familiar treat rather than what he had been experimenting with. Turning to the shelves that Ms. Organa let him store ingredients on, he grabbed the essentials: flour, sugar, baking soda, etc. He reached into the double fridge, used primarily for fancier beverage ingredients, and retrieved a few more things, eggs, milk, and butter. If people wanted a traditional pastry tomorrow, they would have to check somewhere else.  
A few minutes later, Poe wiped his flour-caked hands on his apron, checking the clock overhead. He pulled a small timer from the counter next to him, pressing a few buttons in quick succession and placing it in his apron pocket. He slid the pans into the spacious oven, taking care not to hit his hand on the lower racks, then closing the oven and checking the temperature once more for good measure. He had another 45 minutes to spare until the loaves were finished. After washing his hands, he pulled his phone from his pocket, swiping away unnecessary notifications. Sighing, he patted his pocket to confirm that he had placed the timer inside, and walked through the hall back up to the front counter where Jessika sat.

“What’d you make?”  
“Lemon bread, nothing too fancy.”  
“Smells good, man.”  
“Thanks, they’ll be done soon.”  
“Drop one on the floor for me?”  
“Naturally!”

She always asked him to drop one of whatever he made on the floor, and he didn’t mind. She didn’t mean any harm in that, she just wanted him to be able to justify her not paying for her baked goods. Poe didn’t care, being as the baking cost him very little, and he just really liked giving people food. It might be a problem. Nobody seemed to mind the amount of free food that was associated with being friends with Poe. Over half an hour passed in near silence, both of them having learned over time to nearly communicate without words. Jessika pulled out her phone a minute later, tapping the screen quickly with a devious smile spreading across her face. Poe tried to ready himself for whatever absolutely terrible thing she was about to tell him when the door pushed open, the bell ringing clearly in the nearly empty building.   
It was a few minutes before the shop closed, and normally Poe resented people coming in this near to closing time. Not today, though. Instead of some random person as he had expected, it was Finn. He was wearing the same devastating clothes as he had been earlier that day, but now with a hooded sweatshirt unzipped over his shirt just fully completing the look that would officially be the death of Poe. Something so simple as clothing should not have reasonably caused him as much distress as it did, and he stopped breathing for a minute as Finn walked up to the counter.   
“You’re back!” Jessika chirped, clapping Poe on the shoulder and snapping him out of whatever thoughts he was stuck in.  
“Yeah, my roommate had a bad day, so I wanted to get her a treat before she got home. What do you recommend?”  
“Uhmmm, what does she like?” Poe finally remembered how to talk to cute boys, recovering just in time.  
“She loves fruity things, so something like that probably…”  
“Well I’ve got the usual muffin selection has some fruity options, or… I’ve got some lemon bread in the oven that should be done in just a few, if you’re willing to wait a bit?”  
“That actually sounds like exactly what she wants, definitely. Uh, could I get some tea too please? Mint would be great!”  
Poe nodded, smiling at Finn as Jessika went to the other counter to make the tea. Poe finally remembered to charge Finn for at least his tea, though he insisted on paying for the bread as well. Finn never moved to sit down, leaning at the counter instead and making small talk with the two people working there for a few more minutes. The damn kitchen timer interrupted their conversation, and Poe ducked into the back room to get the bread loaves out of the oven before they burned. In his haste to get back to the front counter, he neglected to use potholders when reaching for the first of the pans.   
“OH HOLY FUCK”, was the only thing that was heard from Poe for nearly ten minutes. He had managed to pull one of the pans out of the oven without any protection, but obviously burned his hand in the process, dropping the loaf on the counter with a thud. He rushed to the sink and kept his hand under ice cold water for probably a few more minutes than needed, feeling the room heat up from the still-opened oven behind him. When the throbbing pain in his palm faded to just a less fatal feeling buzz, he walked back to the oven and made sure to pull on an oven mitt before grabbing the last few pans and placing them on the counter. Feeling his hand begin to hurt again, he tossed the oven mitt to the side and ran it under cold water, yet again.   
A few minutes later, Poe emerged from the back room, holding his right hand awkwardly at his side. Finn looked incredibly concerned, and Jessika just looked at him with one eyebrow raised. Without saying a word, glaring at Jess, he walked behind the counter and grabbed the first aid kit that sat under a shelf, pulling out some heavy bandages and wrapping his hand with them. Finn finally broke the silence after a few seconds that seemed to span a lifetime.

“Poe, are you okay?”  
“Yes, totally, absolutely, I’m great-”  
“Dude, what the hell? Did you forget how a potholder works?”  
“Shut up Pava, I just forgot to use one!”  
“That’s a bullshit excuse and you know it. I raised you to always use protection, young man.”  
It was like she was trying to set Poe up for his immediate death. He was about to shoot her the most venomous of looks, when he heard Finn nearly choking on laughter. He decided that he would have to let this pass just this once, because oh my god Finn was laughing so hard, and now he was laughing too so maybe he wouldn’t give Jessika shit for this just yet. Probably tomorrow though. Definitely tomorrow. Jess got up a minute later, locking the door and switching off the sign, but the three of them stayed for a while longer.   
Eventually Poe remembered about the loaf of bread he had injured himself in retrieving, and ducked into the back room to wrap it up and bring it to Finn. He covered one of the loaves carefully in cellophane, finding a spare ribbon on a shelf and tying it around the small parcel. He came back into the front area right as Finn was pulling his jacket back on, and he had to look away because he was not going to let this kid’s arms distract him any further today. Sitting back down, he placed the bread on the counter and pushed it across to Finn, who took it in his hands and smiled. He lifted the loaf and smelled it, his eyes closing and his chest expanding as he breathed in the fresh bread smell, and Poe swears he tried not to look.

“Rey’s going to love this, I can tell. Thank you!” He said, and Poe and Jessika shared a knowing look as soon as he uttered his roommate’s name.  
“No problem, let me know how she likes it!” Poe replied, smiling.  
“I’m not sure if I can make it in tomorrow, could I text you or something about it?”   
Poe choked on air.  
“Yeah, of course, yeah, uh, let me just get you my number-” He scrambled for a pen and notepad, jotting down his phone number and writing “Poe Dameron” at the bottom. He pushed the note into Finn’s hand, both of them smiling widely.  
“I’ve gotta go, but I’ll let you know how much Rey loves it! Bye!”  
“Bye!” Jessika and Poe say in unison as he turns and walks to the front, exiting with a small wave.

Poe turned around in his seat immediately after Finn was gone to face Jessika. Her face splits in a grin from ear to ear, and he can feel his own face heating up entirely.

“You know he’s probably still coming in tomorrow, right?”  
“Most likely.”  
“You’re fucked, Dameron.”  
“I’m fucked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is the recipe i referenced for the lemon bread...  
> http://www.justataste.com/glazed-lemon-bread-recipe/
> 
> tumblr: hotdammneron


	3. Part 3: Coffee Cake (and the Elements Conspiring Against You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe works the night shift for once, and in the down time he helps Finn study, before the weather sets out to ruin Poe's life further.

It was an average October afternoon in Seattle, and the weather was agreeable. While the sky was splashed with clouds, the temperature was moderate and the sun was high in the sky, partially obscured, leading to a bit of shade. Poe knew by now not to trust the weather, so he brought a coat with him as always as he walked to work around noon. He was working the closing shift today to cover for Jessika (who had a date, though she wouldn’t tell him who), and Snap had taken over the morning shift for him. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and saw a text from Finn. It had been about a month since he had given him his phone number, and the two of them grew into some sort of friendship over Finn’s near daily visits to La Resistenza, and texted frequently when they weren’t there.   
Finn had asked where he was, and Poe responded right as he rounded the corner to reach his work. Pushing his phone back into his pocket, he pulled open the door and walked inside, greeted by Finn where he leaned at the counter. He noticed a shocking lack of dishes in front of Finn.

“D’you get anything yet?”  
“Not yet, I was waiting for your recommendation.”   
Nearly every time he came in, Finn would ask Poe what he thought was best that day, and always went with Poe’s suggestion.  
“Oh, there’s fresh coffee cake in there, I definitely suggest that.”   
Poe smiled across the counter at Finn. He had sort of figured out how to not be totally distracted by the other man over the course of a few weeks.  
“Sounds like a plan!”  
Finn grinned at him. Poe painfully remembered that he still wasn’t fully immune to this guy’s smile, or his arms for that matter. He realized Finn’s shirt was sleeveless, and died a little bit inside as Snap reached into the pastry case and grabbed a slice of coffee cake, placing it on a plate and passing it to Finn with a friendly smile. As Finn reached for his wallet, Poe shook his head, raising a hand to him.  
“No, my treat today, buddy.”  
“Really? Thanks, man!”  
Finn smiled again and Poe continued to regret everything. Yet again, as had become a bit of a tradition at this point, Finn walked over to a couch near the counter and sat down with his food and pulled some class work out of his bag. He tucked his legs underneath him, taking a bite of his cake, looking deep in thought. He reached to his bag for his planner, reading through what could be assumed was today’s page, then grabbing one of the large textbooks from the table in front of him and flipping through the book until he found the part he needed to look at. He sometimes subconsciously held his pen in his mouth while he wasn’t writing, and span it around in his hand when he was getting ready to take a note of something. Finn seemed to savor and appreciate each bite of whatever he was eating on a given day, as if it was his last meal that he could ever eat.   
Poe caught himself staring at Finn (again), when Snap kicked him in the shin under the counter. Blinking fast and turning to face his coworker, who was now wearing a thick jacket and a hat to face the weather outside before it could turn bad at any moment, he also realized it had been 2 minutes since when he was supposed to start his shift. Snap looked at him, seeming a bit irritated but otherwise fairly happy like he usually did.

“Poe, your shift started a few minutes ago.”  
“Yeah, yeah, I noticed, sorry man-”  
“You can stare at cute boys when you’re not on the clock, but for now I’m gonna go study for my art history final so I don’t fail and I can graduate.”  
“Go get ‘em, kid.”  
Poe clapped his coworker on the shoulder, looking deadly serious. Snap raised an eyebrow, then looked over to Finn and back at Poe before leaving without another word. Poe sighed, running his hands through his hair and trying to look at anything in the nearly empty shop besides Finn, who was sitting with his pen between his full lips and staring blankly at a book in front of him. He tried to busy himself with any cleaning or maintenance that would keep him occupied, but the entire coffee shop was almost spotless, leaving him with nothing to do. He settles back down at a stool behind the counter, and resigned himself to his fate of looking at Finn. He was still sitting on that damn couch, taking occasional bites of his coffee cake. After a few minutes, Poe got up and walked past the counter into the main seating area. He sat down in a soft chair across the table from Finn, who looked up slowly from his book.

“What’re you reading?”  
“Just something for one of my classes, the professor says he’s going to give us a pop quiz at any point during the semester, so I’ve gotta get caught up.”  
“What class?”  
“Anthro 101.”  
“Is that your major?”  
“No, I don’t really have a major yet I guess? I can’t just settle down into one specific thing, everything is just so interesting! I’m just kinda taking a ton of classes until I find something that really calls out to me.”  
“That’s pretty much what I did.”  
“Did you ever find a major?”  
“Yep, I settled for mechanical engineering eventually. Not really my thing though.”  
“That’s what Rey’s majoring in!”  
“Really? Nice. I mostly just like baking though, but I’ve got that as a backup in case I can’t move on to bigger pursuits after this.”  
“That’s a good idea.”

The two of them sit in silence for a moment, Finn taking another bite of his cake and still neglecting his studying.  
“Want me to quiz you?”  
“Are you sure? Shouldn’t you be working right now?”  
“Eh, nothing’s happening, and Leia has a soft spot for me, she’ll let it pass.”  
“Really? That’d be great, actually!”  
“No problem!”  
Finn passes the textbook across the table to Poe, who scans the page for a minute. He asks Finn questions from the book, being unfamiliar himself with anthropology, but trying his best anyway. Not that he was expecting anything less, but damn, was Finn good. He got absolutely every question right with what seemed like little consideration, and smiled even wider each time he was correct, which Poe didn’t even think was possible to have a wider grin than that. His reaction definitely made Poe smile too. He even got the harder seeming questions right without a second thought, and Poe was sort of in awe, somehow more than he usually was when Finn was talking.   
Having gone through each of the questions in the book at least twice, Poe closed the textbook and placed it on the table between them. Nobody had come into the coffee shop for the entire half hour that had passed, which he counted as a gift from whatever forces were watching over him. Looking out the window over Finn’s shoulder, he saw storm clouds building on the horizon, still far from their location. Despite his nagging internal dialog that sounded an awful lot like Jessika telling him to “get off your ass and get back to work, Poe”, he stayed on the couch. Somehow, she had a way of bugging him to actually do his job even when she wasn’t around.   
After another hour of absolutely no business and the two of them sitting across from each other on the couch, the clock showed that it was four and Poe got up. He walked to the front door, switching the sign around to the “closed” side. Still on the couch, Finn began to pack up his long-abandoned studying materials, then swinging his bag over his shoulder.  
“If you’re closing, I should go..”  
“No, you’re okay, stay! I mean, unless you want to go, I’m not trying to keep you hostage or anything-”   
“I don’t want to get in the way, are you sure?”  
“Yeah, definitely! I could use the company anyway.”  
Finn put his bag back down on the ground, sitting on the arm of the chair as Poe dismantled the espresso machine and walked to the back to take care of a few dishes that remained from the small lunch rush. He noticed that Poe sang quietly to himself as he worked, words indistinguishable as he counted out the tips for the day. He tried to hear what he was singing, but he still couldn’t make out any distinct words, at least not in English. Finn may have mostly shamelessly taken a few quick glances at Poe’s butt when he had his back turned, and found himself really hoping there weren’t any psychics in the area.  
About ten minutes later, Poe was done with the night’s cleaning and hung up his apron on a hook in the back. Walking back out into the main dining area, he saw Finn leaning against one of the bookshelves, grinning back at him. He had his bag over one shoulder, and Poe walked into a wall on the way to grab his jacket from under the counter, barely hearing the other man stifling a laugh at this. Sliding his jacket over his shoulders, he thought it was probably his imagination that he saw Finn watching him, but he could dream. While it did seem like Finn was perpetually smiling, Poe suspected that he definitely had different smiles for different moments. He couldn’t quite read the meaning behind this smile, but he liked it.   
The two of them left the shop a minute later, Poe scanning the rooms one last time before they leave, and he turns to lock the door behind them. They stood outside for a few minutes, discussing anything and everything that came to mind (maybe not everything, Poe realized), before Poe checked his watch. Seeing it was around 4:30 and he had to feed Bea around 5 or she would chew up the couch legs again, he felt bad about needing to leave so soon.

“I’ve gotta go back to my apartment, sorry to cut this conversation short…”  
“I could walk you home if you wanted?”  
“Okay, are you sure?”  
“Yeah, totally! Rey’s out on a date and I’m not sure if she’ll be back tonight, so it doesn’t matter.”  
“Really? Jessika’s on a date too… What a weird coincidence!”  
“Oh my God, Poe what if-”  
“There’s really no way that’s a coincidence is there?”  
“Absolutely no way.”  
“I need to text her immediately.”  
Before Finn had even gotten that closing statement out, Poe already had his own phone in hand, tapping the screen frantically and Finn could read something in all-caps over his shoulder. Pulling out his phone, Finn typed a (seemingly much calmer than Poe’s message) short text to Rey. Next to him, Poe was laughing so hard that no noise was coming out, nearly doubled over as they continued walking.   
As they were steadily making their way through the city, minutes passing quickly, Poe looked overhead and noticed the stormclouds from earlier that day building up above them. The weather in Washington was temperamental, and today was a prime example of how it could go from sunny and warm to dreary and bordering on rain within a few hours. They kept walking, Finn shivering slightly due to his inappropriate shirt choice and decision not to wear a jacket, and Poe was sure he felt a few drops of rain scatter across his face as they neared his apartment building. The rain started coming down in sheets right as they rounded the corner, sticking all in Poe’s hair and soaking his jacket, not nearly as much as it did to Finn’s shirt, which clung to his shirt and made Poe nearly walk into a fire hydrant. Running half a block to the building, Poe held his jacket as a makeshift umbrella over his head, trying to cover Finn as well, and they collapsed into a laughing, panting pile in the doorframe. 

“D’you want to just stay here or something? It’s pouring, you probably shouldn’t walk home in this…”  
“That might be the best idea you’ve ever had, thanks man.”  
“No problem!”

Finn breathed a bit more heavily as he pulled away from where he was leaning a bit to close into Poe’s space, and Poe pulled the door open, trying to shake off some of the rain that was still stuck to his clothes. The two of them stepped inside, Poe sprinting a bit farther ahead and both of them running up the stairs to the third floor where his apartment was. After he fumbled with his keys and pushed the door open, Finn stood (slightly uncomfortably) in the entry hallway, as he heard skittering coming down the hallway, a small dog of stocky build rushing toward him and barking. After patting the dog on the head and muttering something to it, Poe quickly ducked into his bedroom, changing into some dry, comfortable clothes and leaving his hanging in his closet. He grabbed some other clothing that seemed like it would fit Finn, then leaving his room and tossing the pajamas over at Finn and pointing him towards the bathroom. He returned to his room for a moment, grabbing a towel and scrubbing his hair dry in the living room as Finn changed.   
Finn emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, running his hands through his damp hair, Poe trying not to stare at how nice his old, messed up clothes looked on Finn’s arms. There were high chances that Finn’s arms would kill Poe one of these days. 

“Bathrooms there, as you saw, over there’s Jess’ room, mine’s next to there, living room is fairly obviously here…” 

He guided a small impromptu tour of his and Jessika’s shared apartment, then walking over to the couch and flopping down onto it with his legs draped over the arm. Finn joined him after a moment, pulling out his phone once again to see if Rey had responded to his texts. Poe did the same, and neither of their respective roommates had sent any sort of verification as to their whereabouts or what they were doing (with or without the other). The dog from earlier jumped onto the couch between them, her butt wiggling as she danced excitedly on Poe’s leg, reaching up to nuzzle his face between barks. His eyes crinkled even more than usual at the edges when he smiled down at her, rubbing her ears and back, and Finn thought his heart might just break right then and there.  
Around an hour later, Poe reached for a tamale from the table behind the couch. He went to pass the plate to where Finn sat quietly next to him, only to see him sound asleep with his knees tucked up by his chin and his head resting on the arm rest. Bea was tucked into the space between his butt and the back of the couch, asleep and whimpering ever-so softly into his side. Finn even managed to be smiling in his sleep, his eyelashes fanned out over his soft cheeks. Poe smiled, gently rising from the couch and walking to his room. He grabbed a blanket from off his bed, knowing he wouldn’t miss it as he always slept with about six blankets to bundle up in, and walked back into the living room. He draped the blanket over Finn, and Bea stuck her nose up from under the quilt, making a small snarfling noise at him before returning to sleep curled up by her new best friend.

“I feel betrayed, honestly.” Poe said, smiling at the last trace of Bea before returning to his room. He wrapped himself in as many blankets as he could, curling up on himself and sending a quick text to Jessika telling her “don’t worry about being home before dark, I won’t be staying up waiting for you or anything”, affecting his best motherly tone even over text. Soon, he drifted off into an easy sleep, despite the early hour and the lack of dog next to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://www.gogogogourmet.com/cinnamon-coffee-cake-with-streusel-crumb-topping/
> 
> heyyy here this is!!  
> Updates might be a little bit delayed during the week because I can't write much while I'm in school, but I'll try to still update regularly!  
> tumblr: hotdammneron

**Author's Note:**

> La Resistenza is italian for the resistance! And also there will be so many baked goods in this fic be prepared... bonding with cute boys over scones, the poe dameron way.  
> tumblr: hotdammneron


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